Multiple wireless communication protocol methods and apparatuses including proactive reduction of interference

ABSTRACT

A collection of wirelessly networked devices including first devices wirelessly networked together using a first wireless protocol that is a frequency hopping protocol, and second devices wirelessly networked together using a second wireless protocol, are operated in a coordinated manner, including proactive reduction of interference between the networked devices. In one embodiment, the first devices include at least a first and a second subset operating with a first and a second frequency hopping pattern respectively. The proactive reduction effort includes synchronized operations of the first and second subsets of the first devices, and the second devices operate in a manner complementary to the synchronized operations of the first devices. In one embodiment, the collection of wirelessly networked devices includes at least one wireless device that operates in both wireless networks in accordance with both wireless protocols. The multi-protocol device is equipped to at least facilitate prospective anticipation of whether transmission of a long packet that spans multiple ones of successive frequencies by a device of the first wireless network will cause interference with devices of the second wireless network.

RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation-in-part application of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 09/439,946, filed on Nov. 12, 1999, entitledMultiple Wireless Communication Protocol Methods and Apparatuses, whichitself is a continuation-in-part application of (a) U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 09/408,725, filed on Sep. 29, 1999, entitled “AWireless Apparatus Having Multiple Coordinated Transceivers For MultipleWireless Communication Protocols”, and (b) U.S. patent application Ser.No. 09/436,458, filed Nov. 8, 1999, entitled “A Wireless ApparatusHaving A Transceiver Equipped To Support Multiple Wireless CommunicationProtocols”.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to the field of wireless communication.More specifically, the present invention relates to the problem ofconcurrent wireless communication with multiple communication partnersof different wireless communication protocols.

2. Background Information

Advances in microprocessor and communication technology have led to theincrease in popularity of wireless communication. Once confined to theprivileged, wireless voice communication have become affordable andavailable to the masses. Today, various efforts are under way to applywireless communication to replace attachment cables used for attachingperipheral devices, such as printers, scanners and the like, as well asnetworking cables used for connecting clients, servers and the like. Aleading candidate to accomplish the former is commonly known to thoseskilled in the art as the Bluetooth technology or Bluetooth protocol.Examples of technology to accomplish the later include the differentvariants of the IEEE 802.11 Standard published by the Institute ofElectrical and Electronic Engineers, 802.11 (Frequency Hoping, DirectSequence), 802.11a, 802.11b, as well as Home RF, also known as SharedWireless Access Protocol (SWAP) to those skilled in the art.

A need has emerged in a number of applications that it is desirable fora device to be able to operate “concurrently” in multiple wirelessprotocols. One such applications is having a notebook computer beingable to communicate with peripheral devices such as a phone, a printer,a scanner and the like, in accordance with the Bluetooth protocol; andwith other computing devices, such as other peer computers or servers,communication devices, such as modems or adapters, and networkingdevices, such as gateways, routers, switches and the like, in accordancewith one of the 802.11 protocols or Home RF.

However, the need cannot be met by simply providing the device withmultiple transmitters, one for each protocol. The reason is because ifmultiple ones of these transmitters were to transmit at the same time.The transmitters are going to interfere with each other, resulting incorruption and/or loss of data, as well as degradation in performance.

As will be described in more detail below, the present inventionsubstantially address this need in a very efficient and low cost manner.This and other advantages of the present invention will be readilyapparent from the description to follow.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A collection of Tirelessly networked devices including first devicesTirelessly networked together using a first wireless protocol that is afrequency hopping protocol, and second devices Tirelessly networkedtogether using a second wireless protocol, are operated in a coordinatedmanner, including proactive reduction of interference between thenetworked devices. In one embodiment, the first devices include at leasta first and a second subset operating with a first and a secondfrequency hopping pattern respectively. The proactive reduction effortincludes synchronized operations of the first and second subsets of thefirst devices, and the second devices operate in a manner complementaryto the synchronized operations of the first devices. In one embodiment,the collection of Tirelessly networked devices includes at least onewireless device that operates in both wireless networks in accordancewith both wireless protocols. The multi-protocol device is equipped toat least facilitate prospective anticipation of whether transmission ofa long packet that spans multiple ones of successive frequencies by adevice of the first wireless network will cause interference withdevices of the second wireless network.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The present invention will be described by way of exemplary embodiments,but not limitations, illustrated in the accompanying drawings in whichlike references denote similar elements, and in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates an overview of the wireless device of the presentinvention, in accordance with one embodiment;

FIG. 2 illustrates a period of operation of the wireless devices of FIG.1, in accordance with one embodiment;

FIG. 3 illustrates the wireless device of FIG. 1 in further detail, inaccordance with one implementation;

FIG. 4 illustrates the operational states and flow of the state machineof FIG. 3 in further detail, in accordance with one implementation;

FIG. 5 illustrates the wireless device of FIG. 1 in further detail, inaccordance with another implementation;

FIG. 6 illustrates the operational states and flow of the state machineof FIG. 5 in further detail, in accordance with one implementation;

FIG. 7 illustrates the wireless device of FIG. 1 in further detail, inaccordance with yet another implementation;

FIGS. 8 a-8 b illustrate a period of operation of the wireless devicesof FIG. 1, in accordance with each of two alternate embodiments;

FIGS. 9 a-9 b illustrate the architecture and operational flow of thewireless device 100 of FIG. 1 for practicing a selected one of themethods of operation of FIGS. 8 a-8 b, in accordance with oneembodiment;

FIG. 10 illustrates a period of operation of the wireless devices ofFIG. 1, in accordance with another embodiment;

FIGS. 11 a-11 b illustrate the architecture and operational flow of thewireless device 100 of FIG. 1 for practicing the method of operation ofFIG. 11, in accordance with one embodiment;

FIG. 12 illustrates the concept of notch filtering;

FIG. 13 illustrates an overview of the wireless device of the presentinvention, in accordance with another embodiment;

FIG. 14 illustrates another overview of the multi-protocol wirelessdevice of the present invention, along with other wireless devices, inaccordance with yet another embodiment; and

FIG. 15 illustrates the concept of synchronized operation of two subsetsof devices employing a frequency hopping protocol in accordance with twocorresponding frequency hopping patterns.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In the following description, various aspects of the present inventionwill be described. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in theart that the present invention may be practiced with only some or allaspects of the present invention. For purposes of explanation, specificnumbers, materials and configurations are set forth in order to providea thorough understanding of the present invention. However, it will alsobe apparent to one skilled in the art that the present invention may bepracticed without the specific details. In other instances, well knownfeatures are omitted or simplified in order not to obscure the presentinvention.

Parts of the description will be presented using software terminologycommonly employed by those skilled in the art to convey the substance oftheir work to others skilled in the art. As well understood by thoseskilled in the art, these software quantities take the form ofelectrical, magnetic, or optical signals capable of being stored,transferred, combined, and otherwise manipulated through mechanical andelectrical components of a digital system; and the term digital systemincludes general purpose as well as special purpose processors, systems,and the like, that are standalone, adjunct or embedded.

Various operations will be described as multiple discrete stepsperformed in turn in a manner that is most helpful in understanding thepresent invention, however, the order of description should not beconstrued as to imply that these operations are necessarily orderdependent, in particular, the order the steps are presented.Furthermore, the phrase “in one embodiment” will be used repeatedly,however the phrase does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment,although it may.

Referring now to FIG. 1, wherein an overview of the present invention,in accordance with one embodiment, is shown. As illustrated, wirelessdevice 100 is provided with wireless transceivers 102 a and 102 b totransmit and receive signals wirelessly in accordance with a first and asecond wireless communication protocol, to enable device 100 to becommunicatively coupled to devices 104 a and devices 104 b of wirelessnetworks 108 a and 108 b respectively. Wireless device 100 furtherincludes controller managers 106 a and 106 b to control the operation ofwireless transceivers 102 a and 102 b respectively. As will be describedin more detail below, controller managers 106 a and 106 b controltransmits and receives by wireless transceivers 102 a and 102 b, in acoordinated manner, in accordance with the present invention, to allowwireless device 100 to operate with devices 104 a and devices 104 b ofwireless network 108 a and 108 b in accordance with the respectivewireless communication protocols at the same time.

In one embodiment, controller managers 106 a and 106 b control transmitsand receives by wireless transceivers 102 a and 102 b (hereinafter,simply transceivers), in a coordinated manner. More specifically, inthis embodiment, controller managers 106 a and 106 b controltransceivers 102 a and 102 b to alternate between transmits by one ofthe two transceivers and receives by both of the two transceivers. FIG.2 illustrates a period of operation in accordance with this embodiment.As shown, in time period T1, for duration t1, control manager 106 acontrols transceiver 102 a to perform transmit of signals to devices 104a of wireless network 108 a (hereinafter, simply network) in accordancewith the first wireless communication protocol (hereinafter, simplyprotocol), while control manager 106 b controls transceiver 102 b toneither perform transmit nor receive of signals to and from devices 104b of network 108 b. In time period T3, for duration t3, the reverse isperformed. Control manager 106 b controls transceiver 102 b to performtransmit of signals to devices 104 b of network 108 b in accordance withthe second protocol, while control manager 106 a controls transceiver102 a to neither perform transmit nor receive of signals to and fromdevices 104 a of network 108 a. In time periods T2 and T4, for durationt2 and t4 respectively, control managers 106 a and 106 b control bothtransceivers 102 a and 102 b to perform receive of signals from devices104 a and 104 b of network 108 a and 108 b in accordance with therespective protocols respectively.

Since all wireless protocols operate on either a carrier sense orcontention free protocol, devices 104 a are able to receive in timeperiod T1, and transmit when there are packets to transmit, butotherwise receive, in time periods T2-T4. Likewise, devices 104 b areable to receive in time period T3, and transmit when there are packetsto transmit, but otherwise receive, in time periods T1-T2 and T4.

Accordingly, wireless device 100 is able to operate with devices 104 aand 104 b of networks 108 a and 108 b in two wireless protocols at thesame time.

Note that time periods T1-T4 may or may not be equal in duration. Thatis, numerically t1-t4 may or may not be equal. As will be described inmore detail below, in different variants of this embodiment, durationt1-t4 of time periods T1-T4 are dynamically and adaptively set. Inparticular, in some variants, duration t1-t4 of time periods T1-T4 areadaptively set based at least in part of transmit and receive workloadsof networks 108 a and 108 b.

Referring back to FIG. 1, except for the teachings of the presentinvention incorporated in wireless device 100 to effectuate the abovedescribed coordinated manner of operation of transceivers 102 a and 102b, transceivers 102 a and 102 b as well as controller managers 106 a and106 b are otherwise intended to represent a broad range of theseelements known in the art. Accordingly, except for the teachings of thepresent invention, which will be further described below, transceivers102 a and 102 b and controller managers 106 a and 106 b will not beotherwise further described.

Wireless device 100 is intended to represent a wide range of devicesthat can benefit from having the ability to wirelessly operate withother wireless devices in two or more wireless communication protocolsat the same time. Examples of device 100 include but not limited tocomputers of various form factors, such as desktop, notebook, palm sizeand so forth, controller devices (i.e. master devices) to manage andcontrol the operation of networks 108 a and 108 b, and gateway devicesto facilitate communication between devices 104 a and devices 104 b.

Likewise, devices 104 a and 104 b are intended to represent a broadrange of devices that can benefit from being able to communicatewirelessly. Examples of devices 104 a include but not limited to phones,video cameras, speakers, modems, printers and scanners equipped towireless communicate in accordance with the Bluetooth protocol. Examplesof devices 104 b include clients and servers, as well as gateways,modems, hubs, routers, and switches equipped to wireless communicate inaccordance with a selected variant of the IEEE 802.11 protocols or HomeRF.

For ease of understanding, only two groups of devices 104 a and 104 b,communicating in accordance with the first and second wirelesscommunication protocols are shown in FIG. 1. However, from thedescription to follow, it will be readily apparent to those skilled inthe art, the present invention may be practiced with more than twotransceivers (as long as the transceivers are likewise coordinated).

Referring now to FIGS. 3 and 4, wherein a block diagram and a statediagram illustrating wireless device 100 of FIG. 1 in further detail, inaccordance with one embodiment, are shown. As illustrated, eachcontroller manager 106 a/106 b of wireless device 100 is endowed with astate machine 300 a/300 b to complementarily assist the controllermanager 106 a/106 b to control its transceiver 102 a/102 b in the abovedescribed coordinated manner. More specifically, each state machine 300a/300 b, in addition to idle state 410, has four operating states412-418 (TX, RX1, NOP, and RX2) to output a signal 304 a/304 b denotinga selected one of a transmit (TX) operation, a receive (RX) operationand no-op (NOP) for its controller manager 106 a/106 b.

Upon power-on or reset, each state machine 300 a/300 b eithertransitions from idle state 410 to TX state 412 or NOP state 416,depending on the state of configuration (config) signal 302 a/302 b. Onestate machine, e.g. 300 a, is configured to transition from idle state410 to TX state 412, while the other state machine, e.g. 300 b, isconfigured to transition from idle state 410 to TX state 412. Configsignal 302 a/302 b may be set e.g. via a jumper or other equivalentmeans, as well as through software.

While in TX state 412, state machine 300 a/300 b remains in the statefor duration ts1, outputting signal 304 a/304 b denoting TX operationfor its controller manager 1026 a/106 b. In one embodiment, where t1 andt3 may take on different values, one state machine, e.g. 300 a, isconfigured with ts1 set to t1, while the other state machine, e.g. 300b, is configured with ts1 set to t3. Ts1 may be selectively set in anyone of a number of techniques known in the art, e.g. through separateregisters or multiplexing circuitry. Upon expiration of ts1, statemachine 300 a/300 b transitions from TX state 412 to RX1 state 414.

While in RX1 state 414, state machine 300 a/300 b remains in the statefor duration ts2, outputting signal 304 a/304 b denoting RX operationfor its controller manager 106 a/106 b. In one embodiment, where t2 andt4 may take on different values, one state machine, e.g. 300 a, isconfigured with ts2 set to t2, while the other state machine, e.g. 300b, is configured with ts2 set to t4. Ts2 may likewise be selectively setin any one of a number of techniques known in the art. Upon expirationof ts2, state machine 300 a/300 b transitions from RX1 state 414 to NOPstate 416.

While in NOP state 416, state machine 300 a/300 b remains in the statefor duration ts3, outputting signal 304 a/304 b denoting NOP for itscontroller manager 106 a/106 b. In one embodiment, where t1 and t3 maytake on different values, one state machine, e.g. 300 a, is configuredwith ts3 set to t3, while the other state machine, e.g. 300 b, isconfigured with ts3 set to t1. Ts3 may likewise be selectively set inany one of a number of techniques known in the art. Upon expiration ofts3, state machine 300 a/300 b transitions from NOP state 416 to RX2state 418.

While in RX2 state 418, state machine 300 a/300 b remains in the statefor duration ts4, outputting signal 304 a/304 b denoting RX operationfor its controller manager 106 a/106 b. In one embodiment, where t2 andt4 may take on different values, one state machine, e.g. 300 a, isconfigured with ts4 set to t4, while the other state machine, e.g. 300b, is configured with ts4 set to t2. Ts4 may likewise be selectively setin any one of a number of techniques known in the art. Upon expirationof ts4, state machine 300 a/300 b transitions from RX2 state 418 to TXstate 412.

From TX state 412, state machine 300 a/300 b continues operation asdescribed earlier.

Referring now to FIGS. 5 and 6, wherein a block diagram and a statediagram illustrating wireless device 100 of FIG. 1 in further detail, inaccordance with another embodiment, are shown. As illustrated, for thisembodiment, instead of having each controller manager 106 a/106 b ofwireless device 100 be endowed with a state machine to complementarilyassist the controller manager 106 a/106 b to control its transceiver 102a/102 b in the above described coordinated manner, wireless device 100is endowed with a single state machine 500 to assist both controllermanagers 106 a and 106 b. Similarly, state machine 500, in addition toidle state 610, has four operating states 612-618 (S1-S4) to output apair of signals 504 a-504 b denoting a selected combination ofoperations, TX with NOP, both RX, and NOP with TX for controllermanagers 106 a and 106 b.

Upon power-on or reset, state machine 500 transitions from idle state610 to S1 state 612. While in S1 state 612, state machine 500 remains inthe state for duration ts1, outputting signal 504 a-504 b denoting TXand NOP for controller managers 106 a and 106 b. Ts1 is set to t1. Uponexpiration of ts1, state machine 500 transitions from S1 state 612 to S2state 614. While in S2 state 614, state machine 500 remains in the statefor duration ts2, outputting signal 504 a-504 b denoting RX for bothcontroller managers 106 a and 106 b. Ts2 is set to t2. Upon expirationof ts2, state machine 500 transitions from S2 state 614 to S3 state 616.

While in S3 state 616, state machine 500 remains in the state forduration ts3, outputting signal 504 a-504 b denoting NOP and TX forcontroller managers 106 a and 106 b. Ts3 is set to t3. Upon expirationof ts3, state machine 500 transitions from S3 state 616 to S4 state 618.While in S4 state 618, state machine 500 remains in the state forduration ts4, outputting signal 504 a-504 b denoting RX for bothcontroller managers 106 a and 106 b. Ts4 is set to t4. Upon expirationof ts4, state machine 500 transitions from S4 state 618 to S1 state 612.

From S1 state 612, state machine 500 continues operation as describedearlier.

Referring now to FIG. 7, wherein a block diagram illustrating wirelessdevice 100 of FIG. 1 in further detail, in accordance with yet anotherembodiment, is shown. As illustrated, for this embodiment, in additionto having wireless device 100 be endowed with a single state machine 700to assist both controller managers 106 a and 106 b as described earlier(with signals 708 a—708 a denoting TX-NOP, RX-RX or NOP-TX), wirelessdevice 100 is further endowed with register 702, time sharing manager704, and workload monitor 706 operatively coupled to each other andstate machine 700 as shown. Register 702 stores t1-t4 for state machine700. Time sharing manager 704 dynamically adjusts t1-t4 to enable statemachine 700 be able to adaptively assist controller managers 106 a and106 b in controlling transceivers 102 a and 102 b. For the illustratedembodiment, time sharing manager 704 dynamically adjusts t1-t4 based atleast in part on transmit and receive workloads of networks 108 a and108 b. Transmit and receive workloads are monitored by workload monitor706 and provided to time sharing manager 704.

Register 702 may be constituted with any storage circuitry known in theart. Time sharing manager 704 and workload monitor 706 may beimplemented with any combinatorial logic or in software.

Referring now to FIGS. 8 a-8 b, wherein a period of operation for thewireless devices of FIG. 1 in accordance with each of two alternateembodiments are shown. In each of these two alternate embodiments, firstprotocol of wireless devices 104 a of network 108 a is assumed to be afrequency hopping protocol as shown, i.e. wireless devices 104 a hopfrom frequency to frequency in accordance with a pseudo random patternto transmit signals. For ease of understanding, second protocol ofwireless devices 104 b of network 108 b is assumed to be a constantfrequency protocol (although in alternate embodiments, it may also be afrequency hopping protocol). In any event, to illustrate the presentinvention, at least one of the frequencies of the first protocol is thesame frequency of the second protocol. Thus, if some of devices 104 aand 104 b are located sufficiently close to each other, and when one ofdevices 104 a selects the same frequency for transmission, interference(or collision) between these devices will occur, resulting in one ormore transmission failures. For the illustrated example, frequencyinterference (or collision) is shown to occur at the 7^(th) and 14^(th)hop (f₇ and f₄). That is, in accordance with the pseudo random pattern,in each of these two hops, devices 104 a transmit in the same frequencyemployed by devices 104 b. An example of a frequency hopping protocol isthe Bluetooth protocol, and an example of a protocol having aninterfering frequency with Bluetooth is the 802.11 protocol. [Note thatthe example interference at the 7^(th) and 14^(th) hop is not intendedto suggest that the interference occurs at every 7^(th) hop. Theinterference pattern is dictated by the intersection of the pseudorandom pattern followed by the frequency hopping devices 104 a and thefrequency employed by devices 104 b.]

To further improve the operating efficiencies of both network, insteadof just letting the interfering devices 104 a and 104 b resolve each ofthe frequency interference, after it occurred, through conventionalcollision detection, back off and retry approaches, wireless device 100coordinates the operation of devices 104 a and 104 b to proactivelyreduce actual occurrence of interference. More specifically, for theillustrated embodiments, either devices 104 a or devices 104 b areselected to be the “dominant” devices. The non-selected devices areconsidered to be the dominated devices. The dominated devices arenotified, from time to time, to suspend operation to pro-actively avoidinterference with the dominant devices, allowing the dominant devices tocontinue to operate without interference. As result, the time consumingcollision detection, back off and retries are substantially reduced, andexperience has shown that the overall operating efficiencies of bothnetworks improve, the dominated network as well as the dominant network.

FIG. 8 a illustrates a period of operation when devices 104 a, thefrequency hopping devices, are selected to be the dominant devices,while FIG. 8 b illustrates a period of operation when devices 104 b areselected to be the dominant devices. That is, under FIG. 8 a, devices104 b, upon informed, will temporarily suspend operation to proactivelyavoid interference, whereas under FIG. 8 b, devices 104 a, uponinformed, will temporarily suspend operation to proactively avoidinterference.

Under either one of these embodiments, wireless device 100 basicallyoperates as earlier described. Except wireless device 100 assumes theadditional responsibilities of determining the pseudo random frequencyhopping pattern of devices 104 a (in one embodiment, including theinterfering frequency), selecting either devices 104 a or 104 b to bethe dominated devices, predicting the occurrence of interference, andpreemptively notifying the dominated devices to suspend operation toavoid interference (in one embodiment, conditionally suspendingoperation).

Referring now to FIGS. 9 a-9 b, wherein the architecture and operationalflow of wireless device 100 having these added responsibilities areshown. As illustrated in FIG. 9 a, wireless device 100 is basically theembodiment earlier described referencing FIG. 7, except wireless device100 is further provided with network management application (or networkmanager) 904 to proactively managing network devices 104 a and 104 b toreduce actual occurrence of interference. Network manager 904 alsosubsumes the earlier described responsibilities of time sharing manager704, i.e. monitoring the workloads of the two protocols, and adaptivelysetting the values of t1-t4 for time period T1-T4.

Operationally, as illustrated in FIG. 9 b, upon initialization, networkmanager 904 monitors the operation of devices 104 a and 104 b for anobservation period, and determines the pseudo random frequency hoppingpattern followed by devices 104 a (and in one embodiment, theinterfering frequency with devices 104 b), 912. This may be accomplishedusing any one of a number of techniques known in the art. Next, networkmanager 904 selects either devices 104 a or devices 104 b to be thedominant devices, 914. In one embodiment, network manager 904 makes theselection in accordance with configuration information programmed inconfiguration register 902. In alternate embodiments, otherconfiguration registers, or other techniques known in the art, such asjumpers, may also be employed to assist network manager 904 in makingthe selection.

Then, on an on going basis, network manager 904, predicts wheninterference will occur, using the determined pseudo random pattern andinterference frequency, 916. Whenever, an interference is to occur,network manager 904 preemptively notifies the dominated devices tosuspend operation accordingly, thereby allowing the dominant devices tooperate without interference, 918. [In one embodiment, if the dominateddevices are devices 104 a, the notification includes the interferingfrequency, and the suspension is conditional, only if the predictedfrequency is indeed the interfering frequency.] The process continues,as long as there are wireless devices of both types 104 a and 104 boperating.

In one embodiment, network manager 904 repeats the calibrationperiodically. In yet another embodiment, network manager 904 monitorsactual interference between devices 104 a and 104 b, and tracks the meantime between interference. Network manager 904 repeats the calibration,whenever the tracked mean time between interference drops below certaingiven performance level.

Note that in embodiments where the number of devices 104 a and 104 bpresent in networks 108 a and 108 b are relatively small, including inparticular, the simplest case where there is only one device 104 a andone device 104 b in networks 108 a and 108 respectively, network manager904 may make the selection of the dominated devices in a dynamic andindividualized manner, when an interference is predicted to occur. Thatis, different device or devices 104 a and 104 b are dynamically andindividually selected for different predictions of interference. Suchdynamic, individualized manner of selection may also be made in view ofthe workloads of the two protocols.

As those skilled in the art would appreciate, the above describedimproved manner of operation (including the embodiment, where suspensionis to be conditionally made by devices 104 a) may be practiced withminimal or no change to devices 104,a and 104 a, as virtually allnetwork devices are capable of temporarily suspending operationresponsive to a request. As to the embodiment where suspension is to beconditionally made by devices 104 a, the conditional performance may beeffectuated through addition of simple frequency testing combinatoriallogic.

Additionally, in yet other embodiments, upon selecting the dominateddevices at 914, wireless device 100 notifies devices 104 a and 104 b oftheir respective roles, i.e. whether they are the dominating devices ordominated devices. Further, at least the dominated devices are alsoprovided with a collision map, for the dominated devices to selfdetermine whether interference is to occur. In other words, operation916 is distributed to the dominated devices, and operation 918 iseliminated.

In yet other embodiments where the wireless protocol is a frequencyhopping protocol successively employing a number of frequencies in apseudo random manner, independent of whether the interferencedetermination is performed by wireless device 100 or the dominateddevices, the determination of interference further includesprospectively anticipating whether the transmission of a long packet bya dominated device operating in accordance with such frequency hoppingprotocol will cause interference with the dominating devices. A longpacket is a packet whose transmission spans multiple ones of thefrequency hops. The dominated devices either self-determine orinstructed by wireless device 100 (depending on implementations) torefrain from starting such transmission of a long packet unlessinterference will not occur.

Referring now to FIG. 10, wherein a period of operation for the wirelessdevices of FIG. 1 in accordance with another embodiment is shown. Again,first protocol of wireless devices 104 a of network 108 a is assumed tobe a frequency hopping protocol, and second protocol of wireless devices104 b of network 108 b is assumed to be a constant frequency protocol(although it may also be a frequency hopping protocol). Nevertheless,for illustrative purpose, it is suffice that at least one 4: of thefrequencies of the first protocol of wireless devices 104 a conflictswith the frequency of the second protocol of wireless devices 104 b asshown, and earlier described. Thus, in like manner, if some of devices104 a and 104 b are located sufficiently close to each other, anddevices 104 a select to transmit in the same frequency, interference (orcollision) will occur, resulting in one or more transmission failures.To further improve the operating efficiencies of both network, insteadof just letting the interfering devices 104 a and 104 b resolve each ofthe frequency interference, after it occurred, through conventionalcollision detection, back off and retry approaches, wireless device 100coordinates the operation of devices 104 a and 104 b to proactivelyreduce actual occurrence of interference. More specifically, under thisembodiment, devices 104 a and 104 b are correspondingly notified of thefiltering to be employed to correspondingly cancel the respectiveinterfering signals, and when to apply the filtering. As will bedescribed in more detail below, in one embodiment, the filtering to beemployed is a notch filter inversely formed in accordance with the otherdevices' signal. As a result, the time consuming collision detection,back off and retries are also substantially reduced, and experience hasshown that the overall operating efficiencies of both networks alsoimprove.

As illustrated in FIG. 10, at each predicted occurrence of interference,both devices 104 a and 104 b apply the corresponding required filteringto correspondingly cancel the respective interfering signals. As before,the basic operations of wireless device 100 remain substantiallyunchanged, except, wireless device 100 assumes the additionalresponsibilities of determining the pseudo random frequency hoppingpattern of devices 104 a, the interfering frequency, the correspondingfiltering to be employed to cancel the respective interfering signals,and preemptively notifying devices 104 a and 104 b of the determinedfiltering as well as when to apply them.

Referring now to FIGS. 11 a-11 b, wherein the architecture andoperational flow of wireless device 100 having these addedresponsibilities are shown. As illustrated in FIG. 1 a, wireless device100 is basically the embodiment earlier described referencing FIG. 9 a.That is, wireless device 100 is also additionally provided with networkmanager 1104, except the additional responsibilities assumed by networkmanager 1104 to proactively reduce interference are slightly different.

As illustrated in FIG. 11 b, upon initialization, network manager 1104monitors the operation of devices 104 a and 104 b for an observationperiod, and determines the pseudo random frequency hopping patternfollowed by devices 104 a, and the interfering frequency with devices104 b, 1112. This again may be accomplished using any one of a number oftechniques known in the art. Next, network manager 1104 determines thecorresponding filtering to be employed by devices 104 a and 104 b tocorrespondingly cancel their respective interfering signals of “theother devices”, and provides the determined information to devices 104 aand 104 b, 1114. In one embodiment, as alluded to earlier, thecorresponding filtering to be employed are notched filters inverselyconstructed in accordance with the other devices' signals (see FIG. 12).That is, devices 104 a are to apply a notch filter, inversely formed inaccordance with transmit signals of devices 104 b, whereas, devices 104b are to apply a notch filter, inversely formed in accordance withtransmit signals of devices 104 a. [Notch filters in general are knownin the art, and will not be further described.]

Then, on an on going basis, network manager 1104, predicts wheninterference will occur, using the determined pseudo random pattern andinterference frequency, 1116. Whenever, an interference is to occur,network manager 1104 preemptively notifies devices 104 a and 104 b tocorrespondingly apply their corresponding filtering, thereby allowingboth devices 104 a and 104 b to operate without interference, 1118. Theprocess continues, as long as there are wireless devices of both types104 a and 104 b operating. [Likewise, the application of filtering bydevices 104 a may also be conditionally performed, only if the frequencyis indeed the same as the interfering frequency.]

As before, in one embodiment, network manager 1104 repeats thecalibration periodically. In yet another embodiment, network manager1104 monitors actual interference between devices 104 a and 104 b, andtracks the mean time between interference. Network manager 1104 repeatsthe calibration, whenever the tracked mean time between interferencedrops below certain given performance level.

As those skill in the art will appreciate, the immediately describedimproved manner of operation may also be practiced with minimal changeto devices 104 a and 104 a, by equipping both types of network deviceswith the ability to responsively apply notch filtering. [Likewise,devices 104 a may be additionally provided with simple combinatoriallogic to effectuate the conditional application of notch filtering.]

Similar to the embodiments described with references to FIGS. 8 a-8 band 9 a-9 b, in yet other embodiments, in addition to notifying thedevices of the required filtering at 1114, wireless device 100 providesthe devices with a collision map, such that the devices can selfdetermine whether interference is to occur, and the appropriatefiltering to be applied. In other words, operation 1116 is distributedto the devices, and operation 1118 is eliminated.

Skipping now to FIG. 14, wherein another overview of wireless device 100of the present invention, along with devices 104 a and 104 b of wirelessnetworks 108 a and 108 b are shown, in accordance with anotherembodiment. In this embodiment, the devices additionally operate in acomplementary manner to proactively reduce interference among thedevices. For illustrative purpose, wireless devices 104 a are assumed toemploy a frequency hopping protocol. Moreover, wireless devices 104 aare subdivided into at least two subsets, with the devices of the twosubsets employing successive frequencies in accordance with at least twocorresponding pseudo random patterns. [In one embodiment, where thefrequency hopping protocol is Bluetooth, each subset corresponds to a“piconet”. Note that even though for ease of understanding, only onedevice 104 a is illustrated in each of the subset, the present inventionmay be practiced with each subset having one or more devices.]]

In accordance with the present invention, to effectuate the desiredproactive reduction of interference, the various subsets of devices 104a are operated in a synchronized manner (see FIG. 15). In oneembodiment, the synchronization is effectuated by synchronizing-transmitand receive operations of the various subsets to a reference signal. Inone embodiment, the reference signal is provided by one of devices 104b. In other embodiments, the reference signal is provided by yet anotherdevice (not shown). Complementarily, devices 104 b are also operatedwith transmit and receive operations aligned to the reference signal.

For this embodiment, in addition to having been incorporated with one ormore of the novel features earlier described, wireless device 100 isfurther equipped to operate in a manner that is complementary to thesynchronized operation of devices 104 a and the aligned operation ofdevices 104 b, to effectuate the desired reduction of interference amongthe devices. In particular, one or both controller managers 106 a and106 b are equipped to enable the two controller managers 106 a and 106 bto operate with aligned control clocks for the two protocols.

More specifically, in one embodiment, controller manager or managers 106a and/or 106 b are equipped such that when wireless device 100 joinswireless network 108 b after having begun communication with devices 104a of at least one of the subsets, wireless device 100 would cause thetwo control clocks for the two protocols to be aligned incrementally. Inone embodiment, the incremental alignment is effectuated in a dependentmanner, depending on the amount of misalignment with respect to atransmission time slot. In one embodiment, the incremental alignment iseffectuated by decrementing the start time of a transmission time slotby a predetermined amount for m successive transmission time slots ifthe amount of misalignment is less than half of the transmission timeslot size, or by incrementing the start time of a transmission time slotby a predetermined amount for n successive transmission time slots ifthe amount of misalignment is less than half of the transmission timeslot size.

In other words, if the transmission periods for the protocol employed bydevices 104 b are 0, B, 2B, . . . , kB (0<=k<2⁶⁴), and the transmissiontime slots of the protocol employed by devices 104 a start at d, d+S,d+2S, . . . , d+mS etc (0<=d<S), the start time of a transmission timeslot of the protocol of network 108 a can be adjusted successively by tmicro seconds for m or n successively transmission time slots, dependingon whether d is less than or equal to S/2 or greater than S/2. In oneembodiment, S is 625 micro seconds, and t is set to 8 micro seconds. Forthis embodiment, if d is less than or equal to S/2, m is set to thelargest integer smaller than d/8, whereas if d is greater than S/2, n isset to the largest integer smaller than S−d/8.

In other embodiments, other criteria and/or parameters, even otherincremental approaches may be employed instead. In one embodiment, theincremental alignment is repeated; however only after waiting for atleast predetermined number of transmission time slots to “dampenoscillations” In one embodiment, the predetermined number oftransmission time slots waited is 10. In other embodiments, differentwaiting periods may be used instead.

Referring now to FIG. 13, wherein an overview of the present invention,in accordance with another embodiment, is shown. Similar to theembodiment of FIG. 1, wireless device 100 is communicatively coupled todevices 104 a and devices 104 b of wireless networks 108 a and 108 brespectively. Wireless device 100 performs transmits and receives of thetwo protocols, in a coordinated manner, to allow wireless device 100 tooperate with devices 104 a and devices 104 b of wireless network 108 aand 108 b in accordance with the respective protocols at the same time.However, unlike all the earlier described embodiments, wireless device100 is provided with a single wireless transceiver 1302, which includesjoint signal transmit/receive section 1303, and a number of transmit andreceive signals up/down conversion sections 1205 sharing joint signaltransmit/receive section 1303. Wireless device 100 further includescontroller/signal processing (C/SP) section 1306 to process data fortransmission by wireless transceiver 1302, to process signals receivedby wireless transceiver 1302, and to control the data/signal processingoperations as well as the operation of wireless transceiver 1302. Theconstitution and operations of wireless device 100 is the subject of thesecond parent application Ser. No. 09/436,458, which is hereby fullyincorporated by reference. Additionally, in some embodiments, wirelessdevice 100 is endowed with a network manager equipped with thecapabilities earlier described referencing FIGS. 8 a-8 b and 9 a-9 b,with or without the prospective interference anticipation for longpackets. In other embodiments, wireless device 100 is endowed with anetwork manager equipped with the capabilities earlier describedreferencing FIGS. 110 and 11 a-11 b. In yet other embodiments, wirelessdevice 100 is endowed with the capabilities earlier describedreferencing FIGS. 14 and 15. In one words, the capabilities and methodsof operations described referencing FIGS. 8 a-8 b and 9 a-9 b, FIGS. 10and 11 a-11 b, and FIGS. 14-15, may be practiced with the multipleprotocol wireless apparatus of the first parent application Ser. No.09/408,725, or the multiple protocol wireless apparatus of the secondparent application.

Thus, a wireless device equipped to substantially operate currently withmultiple wireless communication protocols, and various associatedmethods of operations, including proactive reduction of interference,have been described. While the present invention has been described interms of the above illustrated embodiments, those skilled in the artwill recognize that the invention is not limited to the embodimentsdescribed. The present invention can be practiced with modification andalteration within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. Thedescription is thus to be regarded as illustrative instead ofrestrictive on the present invention.

1. A collection of networked apparatuses comprising: a first pluralityof apparatuses including first and second subsets wirelessly networkedtogether, with each apparatus being equipped to communicate wirelesslyin accordance with a first frequency hopping protocol, with the firstand second subsets operating in accordance with a first and a secondfrequency hopping pattern based on a first and a second pseudo randompattern; a second plurality of apparatuses wirelessly networkedtogether, with each apparatus being equipped to communicate wirelesslyin accordance with a second protocol; wherein said first and secondsubsets of said first plurality of apparatuses are operationallysynchronized and in wireless communication with a common wirelessdevice, and said second plurality of apparatuses are operated in amanner complementary to said synchronized operation of said first andsecond subsets of said first plurality of apparatuses, to proactivelyreduce interference between said first and second plurality ofapparatuses and wherein the common wireless device comprises amulti-protocol apparatus equipped with a first and a second transceiverto communicate wirelessly with said first and second plurality ofapparatuses in accordance with said first and second protocolsrespectively, and in a manner that is complementary to said synchronizedoperation of said first and second subsets of said first plurality ofapparatuses to proactively reduce interference with said first andsecond plurality of apparatuses; wherein said first and second subsetsare operationally synchronized to a reference signal, and said secondplurality of apparatuses are operationally aligned to the same referencesignal and said multi-protocol apparatus includes control logic tooperate in a manner that is complementary to said synchronization aswell as said alignment with respect to said reference signal, toeffectuate said proactive reduction of interference among saidapparatuses; and wherein said control logic includes logic to effectuatesaid alignment to said reference signal incrementally, and in a selectedone of at least a first and a second manner depending on an amount ofmisalignment with a transmission time slot.
 2. The apparatuses of claim1, wherein said logic decrements a transmission time slot starting timeby a predetermined amount for m successive transmission time slots ifthe amount of misalignment is less than half of a transmission time slotsize.
 3. The apparatuses of claim 1, wherein said logic increments atransmission time slot starting time by a predetermined amount for nsuccessive transmission time slots if the amount of misalignment isgreater than half of a transmission time slot size.
 4. An apparatuscomprising: a plurality of wireless transceivers to transmit and receivesignals in accordance with a first and a second protocol, to and fromfirst and second network devices of a first and a second wirelessnetwork communicatively coupled to the apparatus, the first networkdevices comprising first and second subsets that transmit and receive inaccordance with a first and a second frequency hopping pattern based ona first and a second pseudo random pattern in a synchronized mannerwherein the first and second subsets are in wireless communication witha common wireless device, the first protocol being a frequency hoppingprotocol; at least one controller manager coupled to the wirelesstransceivers to control and coordinate operation of said wirelesstransceivers in a manner that complements said synchronized operation ofsaid first and second subsets of said first network devices to reduceinterference among said apparatus and said first and second networkdevices; wherein the at least one controller manager includes logic toalign transmit and receive operations of said wireless transceivers to areference signal against which said first and second subsets of saidfirst network devices synchronize operations; and wherein said logiceffectuates said alignment to said reference signal incrementally in aselected one of at least a first and a second manner depending on anamount of misalignment with a transmission time slot.
 5. The apparatusof claim 4, wherein said logic decrements a transmission time slotstarting time by a predetermined amount for m successive transmissiontime slots if the amount of misalignment is less than half of atransmission time slot size.
 6. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein saidlogic increments a transmission time slot starting time by apredetermined amount for n successive transmission time slots if theamount of misalignment is greater than half of a transmission time slotsize.
 7. In an apparatus having a first and a second wirelesstransceiver, a method of operation comprising: controlling said firstwireless transceiver to transmit and receive data to and from first andsecond subsets of first network devices of a first wireless network inaccordance with a first protocol which is a frequency hopping protocol,and in a manner that is complementary to a synchronized manner ofoperation of the first and second subsets of said first network devicesin accordance with first and second frequency hopping patterns based onfirst and second pseudo random patterns respectively; controlling saidsecond wireless transceiver to transmit and receive data to and fromsecond network devices of a second wireless network in accordance with asecond protocol, and in a manner that is complementary to an alignedmanner of operation of said second network devices to said synchronousoperation of the first and second subsets of said first network devices;wherein said complementary manners of controlling comprise aligningtransmit and receive operations of said first and second wirelesstransceivers to a reference signal against which said first and secondsubsets of said first network devices synchronize operations; andwherein said alignment to said reference signal is effectuatedincrementally in a selected one of at least a first and a second mannerdepending on an amount of misalignment with a transmission time slot. 8.The method of claim 7, wherein said incremental alignment comprisesdecrementing a transmission time slot starting time by a predeterminedamount for m successive transmission time slots if the amount ofmisalignment is less than half of a transmission time slot size.
 9. Themethod of claim 7, wherein said incremental alignment comprisesincrementing a transmission time slot starting time by a predeterminedamount for n successive transmission time slots if the amount ofmisalignment is greater than half of a transmission time slot size. 10.A collection of networked apparatuses comprising: a first plurality ofapparatuses wirelessly networked together, with each apparatus beingequipped to communicate wirelessly in accordance with a first frequencyhopping protocol comprising a plurality-of frequencies successivelyemployed based on a pseudo random pattern; a second plurality ofapparatuses wirelessly networked together, with each apparatus beingequipped to communicate wirelessly in accordance with a second protocol;and a multi-protocol apparatus equipped to communicate wirelessly withsaid first and second plurality of apparatuses in accordance with saidfirst and second protocols respectively, wherein the multi-protocolapparatus further at least facilities reduction of interference amongsaid apparatuses, including at least facilitating prospectiveanticipation of whether interference will occur during transmission of along packet by a selected one of said first plurality of apparatuses inaccordance with said first protocol, said transmission of a long packetspanning multiple ones of said successive frequencies.
 11. Thecollection of networked apparatuses of claim 10, wherein themulti-protocol apparatus includes a network manager equipped todetermine the pseudo random frequency hopping pattern of said firstnetwork devices of said first wireless network.
 12. The collection ofnetworked apparatuses of claim 11, wherein the network manager isfurther equipped to predict when interference will occur between saidfirst and second network devices of said first and second wirelessnetworks, based on said determined pseudo random frequency hoppingpattern.
 13. The collection of networked apparatuses of claim 12,wherein the network manager is further equipped to provide saidfirst/second network devices with collision maps.
 14. The collection ofnetworked apparatuses of claim 12, wherein the network manager isfurther equipped to inform said first/second network devices ofanticipated interference.
 15. An apparatus comprising: at least onewireless transceiver to transmit and receive signals in accordance witha first and a second protocol to and from first and second networkdevices of a first and a second wireless network respectively, saidfirst protocol being a frequency hopping protocol comprising a pluralityof frequencies successively employed in accordance with a pseudo randompattern; and at least one controller manager coupled to the at least onewireless transceiver to control and coordinate performance of saidtransmits and receives, including at least facilitation of proactivereduction of interference among said apparatus and said network devices,by at least facilitating prospective anticipation of whetherinterference will occur during transmission of a long packet by aselected one of said first network devices in accordance with said firstprotocol, said transmission of a long packet spanning multiple ones ofsaid successive frequencies.
 16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein theapparatus further includes a network manager equipped to determine thepseudo random frequency hopping pattern of said first network devices ofsaid first wireless network.
 17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein thenetwork manager includes logic to predict when interference will occurbetween said first and second network devices of said first and secondwireless networks, based on said determined pseudo random frequencyhopping pattern.
 18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the networkmanager is further equipped to provide said first/second network deviceswith collision maps.
 19. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the networkmanager is further equipped to inform said first/second network devicesof anticipated interference.
 20. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein thefirst protocol is a version of Bluetooth, and the second protocol is aprotocol selected from a group consisting of a version of 802.11frequency hopping, 802.11 direct sequence, 802.11a, 802.11b, and HomeRF.
 21. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the apparatus is a computerhaving a form factor selected from a group consisting of a desktop type,a notebook type, and a palm sized type.
 22. In an apparatus having atleast one wireless transceiver and at least one controller manager; amethod of operation comprising: controlling said at least one wirelesstransceiver to transmit and receive signals in accordance with a firstand a second protocol to and from first and second network devices of afirst and a second wireless network respectively, said first protocolbeing a frequency hopping protocol comprising a plurality of frequenciessuccessively employed in accordance with a pseudo random pattern; and atleast facilitating proactive reduction of interference among saidapparatus and said network devices, by at least facilitating prospectiveanticipation of whether interference will occur during transmission of along packet by a selected one of said first network devices inaccordance with said first protocol, said transmission of a long packetspanning multiple ones of said successive frequencies.
 23. The method ofclaim 22, wherein said at least facilitating includes determining thepseudorandom frequency hopping pattern of said first network devices ofsaid first wireless network.
 24. The method of claim 23, wherein saidat, least facilitating further includes predicting when interferencewill occur between said first and second network devices of said firstand second wireless networks, based on said determined pseudo randomfrequency hopping pattern.
 25. The method of claim 24, wherein said atleast facilitating further comprises providing said first/second networkdevices with collision maps.
 26. The method of claim 24, wherein said atleast facilitating further comprises informing said first/second networkdevices of anticipated interference.